In the land of D’enbee, the noble Prince Djon sets off on a quest to curtail forces of the Death Metal army. He is watched over by the patron diety of the land of rave, the great Sky DJ, whom lays down phat beats of inspiration. Armed with the power of magical glowrods, the prince seeks the power of the Prismatic Glowrod in hopes of finally defeating Death himself.

Neon Prince is a side-scroller on rails in a world where medieval fantasy meets the modern rave scene. The player most collect glowsticks scattered throughout the level to overcome obstacles and defeat enemies. When the player finally finds the prismatic glowstick, he gains the power he needs to defeat Death and win the game.

via Extra Credits : Non-Combat Gaming.

The older I get: the more money I have, the more games I want to play, and the less time I have to play games. When I was younger – in high school and most of college, I spent most of my free time gaming. I played single player and multiplayer. …

Of course, I graduated, got a job, got responsibilities, blah, blah, blah – you know the story. …Of course, I still buy games, even though I don’t play them as much. I’m not sure why. Maybe I think that sometime I’m going to have a bunch of free time and get all caught up on all the games I wanted to play months ago. Maybe I’m hoping a new game will capture my attention the way games did when I was younger. But it probably isn’t going to happen. All those games I own will probably just continue to sit on the shelf after I open them and play them for an hour or so before moving on to something else.

After reading Luke’s article on his blog Mispeled, I felt a stir of like-feeling within myself. He articulated my feelings on gaming better than I ever thought necessary. I’m glad he did, because this article is the mirror I needed to take a look into. Check out his article Enhancing the Idea of the Game as an Event. He has a lot more to say.

Dusty Monk over at Of Course I’ll Play It has been playing Star Trek Online beta and has come to the realization that Cryptic Hates the New Player Experience. Check it out, it’s a good read.

This appearance satisfaction is a type of player reward. Titles, badges, fireworks, achievements, and non-combat pets are all player rewards too. In contrast to character rewards, which almost always affect gameplay and game balance.

Today’s Blog Post Spotlight comes from Spinksville. The article is titled Rewarding the Character vs Rewarding the Player and it’s a great insight into what really motivates people.

8. Stand out.
Don’t make something that looks or feels exactly like an existing work. When people experience something new they’re more forgiving of its design, and in the end your creation will get more attention. This should be obvious, but somehow goes over the heads of most designers. If you notice a trend in aesthetics or play mechanics: DON’T DO THAT. Avoid trends; innovate and break new ground. Stop making goddamn ninja and zombie games and if you’re making a shooter don’t put it in space. Seriously.